A leading expert in dental trauma has called on\u00a0parents to make sure that their children wear\u00a0properly fitting mouth guards when playing contact sports.<\/p>\n
Dr Anne O\u2019Connell,\u00a0Consultant In Paediatric Dentistry\u00a0and\u00a0Director of the Trauma Clinic at Dublin Dental University Hospital,\u00a0highlighted\u00a0the fact that one \u00a0in five Irish children and adolescents is affected by dental trauma.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the HSE Dentists annual seminar\u00a0in Athlone,\u00a0Dr O\u2019Connell said prevention is\u00a0the\u00a0key priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cA good fitting mouth guard will cover all the teeth onto the gum and should not drop when speaking. \u00a0Unfortunately\u00a0too\u00a0many\u00a0children\u00a0here\u00a0are using\u00a0ill fitting mouth guards.\u00a0For example many of the \u2018boil and bite\u2019 type are not being heated appropriately and are failing to cover the teeth or are loose. Clearly this compromises their ability to offer effective protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr O\u2019Connell pointed out that dental trauma doesn\u2019t just happen in organised sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Ireland one in four pre-schoolers has\u00a0a dental trauma and children who have had an injury or who have prominent teeth may also need to wear mouth\u00a0guards depending on the organised activity. It\u2019s also important that toddlers who have had a dental trauma are assessed on an ongoing basis as their permanent teeth may be affected\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s estimated that the cost of treating dental trauma injuries amongst children in Ireland is between \u20ac8 to \u20ac20m.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an important public health issue and\u00a0that is why\u00a0Dublin Dental University Hospital is currently conducting a study trying to estimate how much it costs to treat traumatic injuries to permanent teeth in children. As\u00a0well as the\u00a0basic financial cost, \u00a0there are often psychological issues, lost school days and time off work for parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sporting bodies such as rugby, hockey and GAA all deserve praise for making \u2018no mouth guard, no play\u2019 mandatory policy.\u00a0Children who are very active in other sports or who have already had trauma should also wear mouth guards.\u00a0Parents need to play their part and ensure their children have effective dental protection\u201d Dr O\u2019Connell concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A leading expert in dental trauma has called on\u00a0parents to make sure that their children wear\u00a0properly fitting mouth guards when playing contact sports. Dr Anne O\u2019Connell,\u00a0Consultant In Paediatric Dentistry\u00a0and\u00a0Director of the Trauma Clinic at Dublin Dental University Hospital,\u00a0highlighted\u00a0the fact that one \u00a0in five Irish children and adolescents is affected by dental trauma. Speaking at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n